Drew Panayiotou

Until Steve Jobs died, Best Buy was plotting a familiar course for its Super Bowl ad: hiring a celebrity spokesman. Then with all the tributes after the Apple founder's death, Best Buy's U.S. marketing chief, Drew Panayiotou, realized Silicon Valley inventors are today's stars.

Best Buy is expanding its 257-store Shopkick pilot to a nationwide endeavor. Patrons who have the mobile app open whenever they walk into one of the retailer's locations will earn reward points for items like gift cards, song downloads and flat-screen TVs.